Various types of banknote depositing and dispensing apparatuses are used conventionally as an automatic cash transaction apparatus, such as a teller machine, an ATM (automatic teller machine) and the like, installed in a financial institution and the like. In the banknote depositing and dispensing apparatus used as such an automatic cash transaction apparatus, a customer service unit operated when performing depositing process, dispensing process and the like of the banknotes, and a safe for storing the banknotes and supplying the banknotes to and collecting the banknotes from a main apparatus are arranged one above the other. As the banknote depositing and dispensing apparatus, two types of apparatuses, a front operational type and a back operational type may become necessary depending on a place of installation of the banknote depositing and dispensing apparatus. In the front operational type, a staff of the financial institution and the like operates the safe from a side on which the staff operates the customer service unit. In the back operational type, the staff operates the safe from a side that is opposite of the side on which the staff operates the customer service unit.
To meet such a requirement, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H5-342457 (JP05-342457A) discloses a banknote handling apparatus in which a customer service unit that performs deposition and/or refund of banknotes is arranged on each of a front side and a back side of a housing, whereas a safe for storing the banknotes and supplying the banknotes to and collecting the banknotes from a main apparatus is arranged on either the front side or the back side of the housing. Such a banknote handling apparatus is advantageous in that the same apparatus can be suitably used as the front operational type and the back operational type. However, because it is necessary in the banknote handling apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H5-342457 to arrange the customer service unit on each of the front side and the back side of the housing, the banknote handling apparatus upsizes and its production cost also increases.
Each of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H5-342448 (JP05-342448A) and Japanese Utility Model Registration Publication No. 2571410 (JP2571410Y) discloses a banknote handling apparatus in which one customer service unit is arranged in an upper assembly and a safe is arranged in a lower assembly, and the upper assembly is arranged so as to be reversible in a front-back direction with respect to the lower assembly. This banknote handling apparatus is advantageous in that, by reversing the upper assembly in the front-back direction with respect to the lower assembly, the same apparatus can be suitably used as the front operational type and the back operational type. However, in the banknote handling apparatuses disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H5-342448 and Japanese Utility Model Registration Publication No. 2571410, because a plurality of transport paths is arranged in a bottom part of the upper assembly and one transport path is arranged in an upper part of the lower assembly, and one transport path among the transport paths arranged in the bottom part of the upper assembly is connected to the transport path arranged in the upper part of the lower assembly, the other transport path or paths among the transport paths arranged in the bottom part of the upper assembly are not used, and those transport paths become redundant. Moreover, in such a banknote handling apparatus, because the transport path that is actually used among the transport paths arranged in the bottom part of the upper assembly changes depending on the orientation of the upper assembly whereby a control relating to a transport operation of the banknotes inside the upper assembly becomes complicated.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-172946 (JP2000-172946A) discloses a banknote depositing and dispensing machine in which a connecting transporting unit is arranged between an upper assembly, in which a customer service unit is arranged, and a lower assembly, in which a safe is arranged, and the connecting transporting unit and the lower assembly are arranged so as to be reversible in a front-back direction with respect to the upper assembly (see FIGS. 39 and 40 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-172946). This banknote depositing and dispensing machine is advantageous in that, by reversing the lower assembly in the front-back direction with respect to the upper assembly, the same apparatus can be suitably used as the front operational type and the back operational type. Moreover, because the connecting transporting unit is arranged between the upper assembly and the lower assembly, there is an advantage that no transport path in the upper assembly and the lower assembly becomes redundant. However, in the banknote depositing and dispensing machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-172946, because a transport route of the banknotes in the upper assembly and the connecting transporting unit changes depending on the orientation of the lower assembly with respect to the upper assembly, a control relating to a transport operation of the banknotes becomes complicated.